#5 SEO Is Dead, Long Live SEO!
First they came for spammers, and I did not speak out—
Because clearly, I was not a spammer.
Then they came for hotels and airlines, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a hotel or airline.
Then they came for small publishers and bloggers, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a blogger.
Then they came for my content and there was no one left to speak for me.
The (open) Internet as we know it is at an inflection point.
Slowly but surely, big tech has been profiting from your content.
At first, we welcomed it and for the better part of a decade we have enjoyed the spoils of featured snippets, rich results, and a firehose of traffic from Google SERPs.
Now, Perplexity, OpenAI, and Google are taking our content to enrich their AI answers and bottom line.
Is there even a point to producing quality content anymore?
After being gaslit by people at Google for over a year, should you, your organisation, or the businesses you represent continue to invest in authentic helpful content?
Well, it depends, right?
For example, are you a glass half full or a glass half empty type of person?
Jono Alderson recently tweeted “If your content is being written by content writers, it’s probably not what Google or users are looking for.”
And while I totally get the sentiment, my counterpoint is this: Even if the content were written by a subject matter expert and had zero SEO involved, Google SERPs would give zero fucks.
Zero. Fucking. Fucks.
But Jamar Ramos , a good friend of mine, added this — “Call me naive, but I believe now is the BEST tie to care about, and product, quality content.”
And again, I’m aligned with this too but here’s my take: But not for Google.
To which Melissa Popp yelled “Content for the people!”
On one hand, I completely empathise with the small publishers that have seen their traffic and revenue wiped out since the Helpful Content Update. Despite many attempts, they have never recovered and will probably never recover.
On the other hand, businesses come and go. This is life and life is unfair, especially when big tech is involved.
For example, AI Overviews are here to stay and from Alphabet’s recent Q3 earnings call, there are 3 reasons why the SERPs are forever changed.
- Google has successfully reduced the “machine cost per query by 90%.”
- “We’re seeing strong engagement, which is increasing overall search usage and user satisfaction.”
- Integration with ads within AI Overviews is “performing well.”
In other words, Google has found a pathway to profitability which tends to be the North Star to maximise shareholder value.
If there is one thing you can rely on, it is humanity’s insatiable appetite for greed.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you still think Google search is a reliable channel for organic discovery, you’re going to be in a world of pain (if not already).
By the way, this isn’t a new phenomenon. A decade ago, Facebook cut off referral traffic and businesses and marketers had to adapt.
You’re going to have to adapt or be left behind because SEO is dead.
Or rather, the old definition of search engine optimisation is dead.
“SEO is dead, long live on-page SEO, technical SEO, and backlinks!”
So, here’s the thing.
Enterprises have, accidentally or otherwise, stumbled on a marketing mix that works.
It doesn’t rely on just paid, just organic, or just owned, but rather, the entire marketing ecosystem.
I’ll be the first to admit that the way enterprises execute their marketing is extremely suboptimal, but the fact that there is paid activity, owned activity, and organic activity is why they tend to be ok.
I mean, take this line from the recent Alphabet Q3 earnings call, “Sales and marketing expenses increased 5% YoY, reflecting investment in advertising and promotional efforts.” — Anat Ashleyazi, CFO
Google, yes, Google increased their spend on sales and marketing.
They’re not relying on people typing ‘best smartphone 2024’ into a search bar to sell their ‘Made with Google’ products.
Let that sink in.
Oh, there’s also something else that enterprises have — BDRs, aka, dedicated sales people who create pipeline and turn qualified leads into multimillion dollar annual contracts.
And this perhaps is what’s missing in all the niche websites and small publishers that have been decimated. They rely on arbitrage to make money on CPMs. That is, they have no say in how much they can charge for the display ad impressions. When traffic dies, so does their income. And while this may seem harsh, most business models require a sales component.
Organic search is just one piece of a very convoluted puzzle called human behaviour.
So what does this mean for you?
Remember what Jamar said?
Now is the best time to double down on high quality content.
This is what I’ll be doing and what I’m advocating for — but not for Google because their systems cannot differentiate between AI spun rubbish to first-hand experience content.
No, what I’m saying is think bigger than SEO because authentic helpful content will always be core to humanity’s curiosity, and to succeed, you need to be the conductor of a marketing orchestra.
It’s nothing new — we’ve been calling it content marketing for years now.
So go be a content marketer!
Why do you think billboard advertising still exists?
Why do you think print media still exists?
Run ads where your ideal customers frequent.
Stop thinking linear — not everything can be measured and be get comfortable seeing an increasing proportion of your traffic being reported as being ‘direct’.
Be everything, everywhere, all at once.
Let me break this down into concrete terms: create different types of content covering the same subject matter.
For instance:
- Discovery. Short form format ads, influencer collaborations, thought leadership guest posts
- Consideration. Retargeting ads that take people to comparison and social proof content on your website
- Decision. Long form format videos and articles/blog posts
- Advocacy. Turn customer reviews, experiences, and testimonials into discovery ads and social proof
Be everything, everywhere, all at once.
Do this because your content genuinely helps your target audience achieve whatever it is they want to achieve (look good, feel good, be entertained, understand why their Shih Tzu sneezes as though she is swearing at you, etc).
The SERPs have changed.
To thrive, show up for real people, everywhere they need you to be.
Thanks for making it this far!
If you’re a search marketer wanting to transition to an enterprise role, you’re going to want to subscribe to Journal of an Enterprise SEO.
In the next edition, I’ll share how I did the exact same thing as a freelancer and agency-side.
What exactly is Journal of an Enterprise SEO?
A lot of people think in-house SEO is boring.
They’re not wrong, but they’re not exactly right either.
Hello! I’m Daniel K Cheung, the author of this newsletter. In 2022, I made the jump from a $130,000 salary agency-side to a $149,000 one at Australia’s second-largest telecommunication company before landing a role at Adobe.
Ever since then, I’ve come to respect in-house roles, learned to roll with the challenges, and look forward to the incredible potential of B2B enterprise SEO. I want to share my journey because getting hired was a huge milestone in my career.
Every week, I will be sharing tips, including:
- How to get a job as an SEO at an enterprise
- How to increase your sphere of influence
- How to get the most out of your 1:1s with your manager
- Mistakes to avoid in your performance review
So whether you’re at the beginning of your SEO career, about to apply for an enterprise role, or have just started and are finding it really difficult to get things done, I’m writing this for you.
See you next time!